String Instruments/Transcript
Transcript Original Version Silhouettes of a harp, a guitar, a violin, and a piano are shown. Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby. A man, Tim, plays the violin to piano accompaniment by a robot, Moby. Tim makes a mistake, and Moby frowns at him. MOBY: Beep! TIM: Geez, I'm sorry. You're too strict! Tim holds up a letter and reads from it. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, I want to know how stringed instruments make such beautiful sounds. From Cass. Well, they can make pretty ugly sounds, too. But no matter what kind of noise they make, the sound comes from the vibration of strings. The sounds vary depending on how thick the string is, how long it is, and how much tension it's under. The camera zooms in on the middle of a guitar. A hand plucks a string, which vibrates and emits a noise. Then, one hand holds down the same string, and another plucks it again. It emits a higher noise. TIM: How it's played makes a big difference, too. A string can be plucked, which is kind of like flicking it with a thumb, finger, or small piece of plastic. It can be struck, or hit, with a small hammer. Or it can be bowed, which is kind of like rubbing. A guitar is shown in someone's hands. The person plucks a string with his left hand and slides his right hand down the neck, creating a bending pitch. Next, a small mallet is shown hitting a string, producing a sound. Finally, a man is shown bowing a violin held under his chin. TIM: If you've ever stretched a rubber band between your fingers and plucked it, you know how something vibrating all by itself doesn't necessarily sound very loud or all that pretty. So strings are almost always joined to something called a resonator, a hollow structure, usually made out of wood or metal. A guitar is shown. The top comes off, revealing the hollow inside. TIM: A resonator amplifies the sound waves from a vibrating string. In other words, it makes the sound louder and fuller. In most cases, a resonator is just the body of the instrument. If a stringed instrument doesn't have a resonator, its sound can be electrically amplified through loudspeakers! The top of the guitar reattaches to the body. Next, a man is shown playing an electric guitar that is plugged in to an amplifier. TIM: The oldest kind of stringed instrument was probably a lyre, which was popular with the ancient Greeks. A harp is another stringed instrument that’s been around a long time. Harps can be really tiny or really huge! A Classical-style drawing shows a seated man in a toga playing a handheld stringed instrument that looks like a small harp. Then, a woman is shown seated with a harp on her lap. The harp morphs into a handheld size and then into a size much larger than the woman. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Oh, a harp's resonator is in the arm nearer to the person playing. Nowadays, the most popular stringed instruments are probably the guitar and the piano. The camera zooms in on the base of the harp. Next, a guitar and a piano are shown. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Yep, you can see the strings if you look Inside a piano. See, the lower-pitched strings are long and thick, and the high-pitched ones are short and thin. When you press a key, a felt-covered hammer hits one of the strings, producing a sound. Just like with harps and lyres, each string in a piano has a fixed pitch. A piano with an open back is shown. The camera zooms in on the strings, which are thicker on the left and thinner on the right. Next, a keyboard is shown beneath a mallet and a string. A finger presses a key, and the mallet strikes the string to produce a sound. TIM: But in stringed instruments with necks, like the guitar, you can change a string's pitch by pressing on it in different places. That changes the length and tension of the part of the string that's vibrating, which affects the pitch. A man is shown playing the guitar while sliding his left hand up and down the neck. This shifts the pitch of the string he plucks. TIM: The stringed instruments found in orchestras have necks too. But unlike the guitar, these instruments are played with a bow, a strong, bendy stick with a ribbon of horsehair stretched across it. The hair is rubbed with resin, which produces friction on the strings. An orchestra has four main types of stringed instruments. From highest to lowest pitch, they’re the violin, the viola, the cello, and the double bass. A seated man playing the violin, a seated woman playing the cello, and a standing man playing the double bass are shown. The camera zooms in on the bow that the violinist is using. Then, only a bow is shown. A small resin applicator slides along the horsehair part. Next, four silhouettes of people playing instruments are shown. Each is highlighted as Tim names it. The viola is a slightly larger violin; the cello is a much larger, upright violin rested on the ground; and the double bass is a much larger cello that requires the musician to stand. TIM: Some stringed instruments, like the double bass, also have a life outside the orchestra. Both large, wooden basses and smaller, electric ones are used in jazz and dance bands, for instance. A man in a jazz band is shown standing and plucking a double bass. Another man next to him is seated and playing the guitar. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Yeah, those are only some of the stringed instruments out there. Versions of the violin and the viola are used all over the world: in South India and North Africa, in modern Greek and Arab music, and in western folk music, to name a few. And there are tons of other stringed instruments. A series of people playing instruments scrolls across the screen in front of a world map. A man in a turban is shown sitting and playing a thin stringed instrument with a large bow. A shirtless man in a loincloth is using a small bow to play a thin stringed instrument held against his chin. Another man is resting a tall, very thin stringed instrument on his lap and rubbing a bow on it. A fourth man in a cowboy outfit is playing a fiddle with a bow. More stringed instruments of varying shapes and lengths are shown. The camera zooms in on the hurdy gurdy. It looks like a bulky violin with small keys along one raised edge over the body. TIM: My favorite is called the hurdy gurdy. I just love saying that. Hurdy gurdy. Hurdy gurdy. Hurdy gurdy. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Oh, yeah, they're not easy instruments to play. Tim and Moby begin to play their instruments again, and again Tim makes a mistake. Moby frowns. TIM: Uh, especially when robots are staring at them. Tim and Moby stare at each other, and then Moby walks away. He is then shown listening at a closed door with a pleased expression. Beautiful violin sounds are heard from within. Updated Version Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby. A boy, Tim, plays the violin accompanied by a robot, Moby, on piano. Tim plays a wrong note. Moby frowns at him and stops playing. MOBY: Beep! TIM: Geez, I'm sorry. You're too strict! Tim holds up a letter and reads from it. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, I want to know how stringed instruments make such beautiful sounds. From, Cass. TIM: They can make some ugly sounds, too, turns out. But whether it's pretty or not, the sound is produced by the vibration of strings. An image shows a guitar. The strings begin to vibrate. The animation zooms in on a single vibrating string. TIM: You may notice that the vibrating string looks kind of like a sound wave. Especially if we do this. The vibrating string transforms into a sound wave with one peak and one valley. TIM: That's no coincidence: the sound the string produces has the exact same waveform! The sound's pitch – how high or low it is – depends on how fast the string vibrates. The faster it goes, the higher the pitch. A higher note is played. More peaks and valleys appear, moving faster across the screen. TIM: The string's thickness, length, and tension all contribute to how fast it'll vibrate. How it's played affects other elements of the sound. An animation shows a guitar player plucking a string. His hand moves to play a higher note. MOBY: Beep? TIM: A string can be plucked with a finger or a small piece of plastic called a pick. An animation shows a guitar player plucking a string with a plastic pick. TIM: It can be struck, usually with a small hammer. An animation shows a finger striking a piano key. Inside the piano, a hammer strikes a string. TIM: Or it can be bowed, which is when you draw a bow across it. Moby plays a double bass with a bow. TIM: If you've ever stretched a rubber band between your fingers and plucked it, you know how something vibrating all by itself doesn't necessarily sound very loud or all that pretty. So strings are almost always joined to something called a resonator, or sound box. That's a hollow structure, often made of wood or metal. An animation shows a guitar opening up to reveal a hollow interior. TIM: A resonator picks up the vibrations of the strings and starts vibrating itself. That amplifies the sound waves. In other words, it makes the sound louder and fuller. In most cases, a resonator is just the body of the instrument. The guitar closes up again. A string is plucked. Vibration lines appear inside the guitar to show sound resonating. TIM: String instruments without resonators can be electrically amplified through loudspeakers. If you've ever been to a rock show, you know how loud those can be! An image shows a woman playing an electric guitar. A chord connects the guitar to an amplifier. MOBY: Beep? TIM: People have been playing string instruments for thousands of years. The oldest ones were probably inspired by the sound of the hunting bow. An animation shows an ancient Egyptian archer firing a bow and arrow. Surprised by the sound it makes, he smiles and continues to pluck the string. TIM: Ancient Egyptians fashioned harps that looked a lot like their bows. Other types of harps and lyres became popular throughout the ancient world. An animation shows an Egyptian plays a harp. Another animation shows a Greek musician playing a lyre. TIM: You probably picture modern harps looking like this. An image shows a woman on a stage with a harp that is taller than her. TIM: But they come in all sizes. The woman fades away. A man playing a harp that fits in his lap replaces her. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Oh, the harp's resonator is in a hollow part of its body. The animation shows the base of the harp opening up. Sound waves resonate inside. TIM: If you've ever looked inside a piano, you may have noticed it looks a bit like a harp. An image shows a grand piano with the top open, revealing strings of different lengths. TIM: See, the lower-pitched strings are long and thick, and the high-pitched ones are short and thin. TIM: When you press a key, a felt-covered hammer hits one of the strings, producing a sound. An animation shows a hand pressing a key on the piano. Inside the piano, a hammer strikes a string. TIM: Instruments that are struck are usually considered part of the percussion family: stuff like drums, bells, and xylophones. An image shows a variety of percussion instruments. TIM: The piano combines elements of strings and percussion, so it’s kind of halfway between the two families. The screen splits to show percussion instruments on one side and string instruments on the other, with the piano in between. TIM: Each piano string has a fixed pitch, just like with harps and lyres. But in stringed instruments with necks, you can change a string's pitch by pressing on it in different places. A guitar player slides his hand to different places along the guitar's neck as he plays. TIM: That’s because it changes the length and tension of the part of the string that’s vibrating. In guitars, there are little raised bars all along the neck. These frets act like guides so you know what note you’ll get from pressing the string there. An animation highlights the frets on a guitar. TIM: The necks on bowed instruments are usually fretless. A violin, viola, and cello appear. MOBY: Beep! TIM: The bow is a strong, bendy stick with a ribbon of horsehair stretched on it. An image shows a bow. TIM: The ribbon is rubbed with sticky tree resin. An animation shows a block of resin sliding along the bow. TIM: That adds to the friction between the bow and the strings, creating more vibration. An animation shows the bow being drawn across the strings of a violin. TIM: If you've ever seen a classical orchestra, you’ve probably noticed the big string section. An image shows a full orchestra on a stage. The strings take up most of the space. TIM: It includes four main types of bowed strings. The screen splits into four sections, each showing a musician playing a different bowed instrument. TIM: From highest to lowest pitch, they're the violin, the viola, the cello, and the double bass. You'll often see the double bass in jazz combos, too. An animation shows a musician in a jazz band plucking a double bass. A woman sings into a microphone and snaps her fingers in time with the beat. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Yeah, the stringed instruments we've covered are popular in western music. Other traditions have their own favorites. There are dozens of variations on violins and violas used throughout the world. And probably just as many guitar-like instruments. A variety of exotic string instruments appear on screen. TIM: In China, the erhu is a popular bowed string. It has two strings, and a resonator shaped like a hexagon or an octagon. A python skin stretched tight over the end helps amplify the sound. An animation shows a Chinese musician playing an erhu. Two pop out windows show a hexagonal resonator and an octagonal resonator. TIM: The sitar was developed in India. It has up to 21 strings, and on some there are two different resonators. The sitar is tough to play; you need fast fingers! An animation shows an Indian musician playing a sitar. MOBY: Beep? TIM: My favorite string instrument is called the hurdy gurdy. An animation shows a woman cranking the handle on a hurdy gurdy. TIM: I just love saying that. Hurdy gurdy. MOBY: Beep? Moby jumps to his feet and takes Tim's hand to dance. Tim backs away. TIM: Uh, I, thanks, but, uh my ankle, um, hurts. Moby dances off screen by himself.Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Arts & Music Transcripts